Eighty-five middle and high school students from Somerset and Hunterdon counties were honored for their achievements at the 29th Annual Paul Robeson Youth Achievement Awards Reception, held May 29 at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) in Branchburg. The event is sponsored by the College’s Paul Robeson Institute for Ethics, Leadership and Social Justice.The evening featured a keynote address by Frank Abreu, a healthcare administrator with years of experience assisting in personal development and overcoming life’s challenges.The National Council of Negro Women and RVCC initiated the Paul Robeson Youth Achievement Awards program to pay tribute to the outstanding attainments of students in the two counties. The awards are named in honor of Paul Robeson, a Princeton native who grew up in Somerville and graduated from Somerville High School and Rutgers University.
The awards were given in four areas in which Robeson excelled: Scholarship, the Arts, Community Service and Athletics, as well as special “Renaissance Awards” given to students who excel in a number of disciplines.The Evelyn Field Award for Outstanding Essay also was presented. The award pays tribute to the founding member of the RVCC Board of Trustees who was a dynamic and compassionate advocate for promoting diversity and equality on campus. In 1990 Mrs.
Field established the Paul Robeson Youth Achievement Program to preserve Paul Robeson’s legacy as a role model for excellence. The 85 students were nominated for awards by their guidance counselors, teachers and administrators. A special committee of RVCC faculty and administrators selected the award recipients.
The following students received special honors:Renaissance AwardMadison PittsSomerset County Vocational & Technical High SchoolMajor Harding Eliot Franklin High SchoolAriel RichardsFranklin Middle School at Hamilton Street CampusAvari JonesNorth Plainfield Middle SchoolCommunity Service AwardNia PhillipsPingry High School Jaya GibbonsLake Nelson Adventist AcademyTy-Anna DormeusFranklin Middle School at Sampson G. Smith CampusRooney RasareReadington Middle SchoolScholarship AwardSharon SamuelSomerset County Vocational & Technical High SchoolNolan James-PietersLake Nelson Adventist AcademySarala Thompson Franklin Middle School at Sampson G. Smith CampusRyan KpameganFranklin Middle School at Sampson G.
Smith CampusAthletics AwardMakayla ChoyBridgewater-Raritan High SchoolNadell BookerFranklin High SchoolSulakha JamaBridgewater-Raritan Middle SchoolDarnell MarchéFranklin Middle School at Hamilton Street CampusArts AwardMadison BishopBridgewater-Raritan High SchoolJordan JacksonSomerset County Vocational & Technical High SchoolCamille JeanBridgewater-Raritan Middle SchoolAlivia GuionsFranklin Middle School at Hamilton Street Campus Evelyn Field Award for Outstanding EssayStacey DarcelinImmaculata High SchoolBeri TaweHillsborough Middle SchoolThe Paul Robeson Institute for Ethics, Leadership and Social Justice was founded in 1999 to preserve Paul Robeson’s legacy in the area where he came of age as an artist, athlete, orator, and scholar. The Institute envisions a global community of diverse cultures that embodies, through attitudes and behaviors, Paul Robeson’s ideals, beliefs, values and vision for a world of justice and peace.The Paul Robeson Resource Room, located in RVCC’s Evelyn S. Field Library, is an information center for Robeson’s national and worldwide activities.
Established in 2003, the Resource Room serves as a repository for educational materials, historical records and memorabilia of Robeson’s Somerville years and the worldwide accomplishments of people of African-American descent. Raritan Valley Community College’s main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.###FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJune 6, 2019Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383PR #151